This invention relates to pipe clamps and couplings.
Certain pipe coupling applications require the use of devices for temporarily holding two pipes together. For example, in the pumping of concrete at a building site, it is necessary to rapidly connect pipes together that will carry the concrete under a high pressure such as 500 psi without substantial leaking. In some applications, the clamps merely hold long sections of pipes together, wherein the pipe sections remain stationary relative to one another after connection, or only tilt by several degrees. In other applications, such as in lifts that can extend a pipe line from the ground up to the height of a floor of a multi-story building at which concrete is being poured, the pipe ends surrounded by the coupling may have to undergo considerable rotation relative to one another. A pipe coupling which enabled the connection of pipe ends together that had to rotate relative to one another, and which minimized leakage and minimized wear on the coupling especially at the seal thereof, would be of considerable use. Such a coupling would be especially useful if part or all of it could also be utilized in couplings that only had to connect a pair of stationary pipes together.